Shimon Lankry in stable condition after being shot in the chest at close range by unknown assailants; police launch investigation

Maor Buchnik |Published: 22.03.13 , 07:50

Akko
Mayor Shimon Lankry
was shot by unknown assailants in the Kfar Yasif Junction area near the city of Karmiel on Thursday night. He is in stable condition and the circumstances surrounding the incident are unknown.

Lankry is currently in stable condition after being evacuated to hospital.

Police District Commander Hagai Dotan commented on the incident and said: "We are pursuing several lines of investigation. I believe that the circumstances behind the incident were not personal. We do not know of any recent threats against him (Lankry)."

Lankry in hospital

Dotan added that the shooter fled the scene of the crime on foot and noted: "We know he was at a Bat Mitzvah party in Akko. What he was doing in Kfar Mekher we're still looking into."

The mayor's brother Shmuel Lankry discussed the shooting and said: "Shimon was at a municipality related event and when he made a turn at the Kfar Mekher Junction someone was lying in wait with a gun and shot him once in the chest. There is an exit wound and he's currently in stable condition. "

Shmuel added that the mayor was alone in the car and said that the mayor did not know the man who shot him. As for the circumstances of the incident, Lankry said: "He's a mayor, it’s enough for him to pass a decision that someone wasn't happy with."

Doctors at the Nahariya hospital said that Lankry was in stable condition but that his lung was hit in the shooting. They added that there was no immediate danger and that he would receive the appropriate care.

Akko Chief Rabbi Yosef Yashar
visited the mayor in hospital: "I visited the mayor, he is doing ok. This was a miracle, the bullet went back into his chest and came out again." Yashar added: "I have no idea who would want to do such a thing to him; I know that he is a popular mayor. I understand that he stopped at a traffic light and was shot at close range."

In August police recommended that Lankry receive a security detail due to a recent conflict with city residents who had opened a horse farm without the necessary permits, but it is unclear if the incident is connected.